Filiform Warts

Please note that Skin-hub only treats filiform warts and is unable to treat common warts or verrucas on the hands, knees, and feet.

Filiform warts get their name from the finger-like projections they display. If you look closely enough you will see they usually look like a hand which has the fingers stretched out forward, sometimes with all the tips brought together. Of all the different types of wart, filiforms can cause the most stress to both children and adults. This is due to the fact that they normally appear on the face protruding outwards and are also the fastest-growing wart anyone can have. In 6 months they can grow 10mm plus. Warts can appear out of the blue for seemingly no reason at all. They can also disappear in the same fashion, but this can take over 10 years in some cases.

What causes them?

Firstly, this is by no means an indication that a person is dirty in any way. There are several reasons why a person can suffer from warts. Here are a few to consider:

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV):

The HPV virus is not only linked with cervical cancer, it’s also a leading cause of warts. If the virus enters the immune system it can stimulate an overproduction of the protein keratin. This manifests itself on the surface of the skin and in a healthy immune system it’s normally dealt with. If however, a person has a weak immune system the virus is stronger and able to survive. Being inoculated against HPV will not guarantee protection as there are possibly hundreds of variants of the HPV strain.

Weak Immune System:

If over the years you have managed to build up a good strong immune system, you are much less likely to suffer from warts, colds, flu and any HPV virus. This is why children and teenagers systems struggle to not only recognize the virus, but to also be able to put up a decent fight and protect the whole body from it.

Poor Nutrition:

We literally are what we eat, as all the skin, internal organs, cells, immune system etc are made from what we supply them with. The food and liquid we provide our bodies with are their building blocks. If you have poor nutrition it will show in a variety of ways and suffering from warts could be one of them.

Stress:

Stress can affect the body in many ways and has a crippling effect on our immune systems. During episodes of stress, the sympathetic nervous system triggers inflammatory chemicals. These chemicals can exhaust and weaken your immune system making it vulnerable to attack.

Direct Contact:

Any wart virus is contagious and so any direct contact with a wart can easily spread from person to person. The risk of cross-contamination is greatly increased if the wart or verruca is damaged or open.

Indirect Contact:

This is one of the most common ways to pass on or receive the virus. Clothing, towels, razors, flooring, bannisters, door handles etc. The virus can survive on most surfaces.

Treatment

Filiform warts are usually quite soft and come off quite easily using the right method. The process involves using a flexible needle the size of an eyelash. The needle is blunt at the tip and that is where both heat and radio frequency are released. Usually, I am able to hold the wart with tweezers whilst I gently stroke the small needle across the base of the wart. The whole lesion comes away quite easily. The needle is then tapped over the area where it grew from. In most treatments, the heat is enough to destroy the virus and that is the end of it. A small scab will form to protect the area whilst the skin regenerates. This usually drops off after around 7 days. On some occasions, it can show signs of growing back due to one of the above initial causes. If this is the case I always recommend booking straight back in to see me for further treatment. There are no charges for these follow-up treatments.

Please note: This treatment is not suitable for warts on the hands or knees, or those with pacemakers, defibrillators, cochlear ear implants, or women who are, or, could be pregnant. Asian and darker skin types are not treated due to the increased risk of scarring.